The cards, which will be free in libraries and community centers in southeastern San Diego in mid-March, also give people an opportunity to show their appreciation to the best neighbors.

"Your yard is beautiful. Thank you!" one postcard reads.

Another card, decorated with a bright pink flower on one side, reads, "I just want to say, 'Thanks for being a good neighbor.' "

Reaching out to a neighbor by sending a thank-you card could help prevent barriers to communication, said Carolyn Smith, president of Southeastern Economic Development Corporation, which paid to design and print the cards. Smith declined to say how much they cost.

"The positive interaction makes for a long-term relationship," she said.

San Diegans squabble with their neighbors about everything from wind chimes to trees that block an ocean view. Neighbors often use mediation to fix the problem.

But left unresolved, neighborhood disputes can become nasty, even deadly. A 52-year-old La Mesa resident was shot to death in 2000 by a neighbor, and in 1998, a City Heights woman was fatally shot in front of her two children after quarreling with her neighbor over a parking space.

San Diego police Chief William Lansdowne said it's not uncommon for disputes to escalate into violence. The postcards, he said, "might take some of the pressure off for us."

SEDC hosted a breakfast Friday to distribute the cards to leaders of the area's community councils.

Robert Robinson, who runs a beautification program for the 4th District council office and is chairman of the Broadway Heights Neighborhood Community Council, said "Hey Neighbor" is "a real slick program."

He plans to send cards to his neighbors to let them know he appreciates the way they maintain their homes and gardens. "I think people need that," he said. "I don't care where you live."

Residents in Skyline often complain about neighbors during meetings of the Greater Skyline Hills Community Association, but they resist telling a neighbor in person that his grass would look better if it were cut more often, said association president Cathy Ramsey-Harvey. "They're not confrontational."

She believes that rather than ringing the doorbell of the house next door, people might be more willing to send a postcard that reads, "Looking at your grass makes me thirsty. Please water your lawn."

Ramsey-Harvey hopes the cards will open communication between neighbors and encourage recipients to resolve problems that bother others. She figures that many people don't realize their boot-high grass is bugging the neighbors.

However, Margaretta Hickman, president of the Webster Heights Community Development Corporation, wouldn't want to receive one of the cards.

"I personally would be offended if somebody left a card on my door rather than coming to me personally," she said. Such a note, Hickman said, would have her looking around the neighborhood and wondering, "Which one of you did that?"

Perhaps that's because she makes a point of knowing her neighbors. In the era of e-mail, she also believes she is an exception.

"I know my neighbors because I make it my business," she said.

Hickman suggests that when a problem arises, it's helpful to talk to a neighbor as tactfully as possible.

"I think when you approach a person head-on that they respect you, as long as you do it in a nice way," she said. "You don't say, you better cut your grass."

Instead, she would ask neighbors if there's a reason they can't cut the grass. If they can afford a gardener, she would offer to give them the name of hers. If they don't have a lawn mower, she might suggest they could borrow one from another neighbor.

But, she cautioned, "It's easier to talk to them if they know you."

Marie Betts-Johnson, who teaches etiquette in San Diego, laughed when she heard some of the neighborly messages. One card features a gnome surrounded by cactuses and reads, "I love your garden – but that gnome has to go."

She said the cards can come off as sarcastic.

"I think a face-to-face interaction is better," she said. "It's always better than getting this note that might be misinterpreted."

Sending a note anonymously would be just plain rude, she said.

Tony Khalil, senior engineer with Neighborhood Code Compliance, the city agency that deals with neighborhood problems, said he wouldn't mind getting a card noting that something he does bothers his neighbor.

"I would probably appreciate the fact that the neighbor brought it to my attention," he said.

Khalil regularly responds to disputes where the complaining party hasn't tried talking to the neighbors about the problem.

"People don't talk to each other anymore," he said. "Right away they call the city.